Social Contradictions in Fyodor Dostoyevsky's Notes from the MetroNotes from the Metro, by Fyodor Dostoyevsky is a truly remarkable novel. Dostoyevsky's novels explore the cause of human action. They challenged conventional wisdom about what motivates humans and offered insight into the inner workings and torments of the human soul. In Notes from Underground, Dostoyevsky recounts the views and actions of a very special man. The man is peculiar because of his lack of self-respect, his sadistic and masochistic tendencies, and his horrible pleasure in inflicting emotional pain on himself and others. Almost instantly, the reader is forced to hate this man. He has no redeeming value, all of his ideas about human nature are appalling, and once he begins the story of his life, the reader begins to actively hate and pity him. The reader is left to wonder why Dostoyevsky would bother to write about this troubling subject. man and his problems. The answer is that Dostoyevsky does not believe in the standards that society imposes on people. This man is the absolute opposite of everything society considers acceptable. Here is a man, endowed with intelligent insight, with lucid perception, who admits to being sick, depraved and hateful. A man who, at every moment, is determined to thwart every chance fate offers him to be happy and content. A man who actively seeks to punish and humiliate himself. Dostoyevsky shows the reader that man is not governed by values ​​that society considers paramount. The main point of Notes from Underground is that human actions cannot be calculated. Dostoyevsky suggests that in society, everyone acts in their own interest. They act to obtain advantages that are in their own interest. He asks the reader to take this for granted. Society considers happiness, freedom, prosperity, etc. as distinct advantages. These things should be in our own self-interest, society says. If someone says they are raping another person, they are not acting in their own interest. They run the risk of feeling guilty; guilt does not lead to happiness. They risk being thrown in prison. Prison is not a place where one can be prosperous or free. Therefore, going to prison or feeling guilty are not in one's best interest, according to society's values. A person who conforms to these values, logically, would not rape anyone..